My Favorite Musical Artists of 2019
Woman with brown hair wearing headphones. Photo by Burst.
I’m somehow, simultaneously the kind of person who listens to the same song over and over again until I hate it, someone who listens to playlists (by artist), someone who listens to a song from one genre such as rock and then one from future bass and then another from the folk music genre, and ALSO, someone who can listen to two different songs at a time (don’t ask me about that one—I don’t even know how or why.) The point is, I clearly have some strange music habits and a diverse music taste with over 5,000 songs in my musical repertoire and across almost every genre (excluding country—not even sorry.)
But one thing I’ve got in common with most people on the internet is that my favorite musical artists are constantly in flux. I remember being really into the harder side of alternative music from classic rock all the way to screamo and death metal, back in middle school and high-school. And in my early years of college, I was super into rave music, dubstep and all things electronic.
Now, I’m more into pop, r&b, rap, punk rock, and pretty much everything else I used to listen to because—what I’ve noticed is that once I am done listening to a song on repeat so many times that I will never need to hear it again, it eventually makes its way into my usual rotation.
Basically, once I’ve burned myself out on a particular song, artist, album, or genre, I will give it a break and then bring it back, later. However, I am still in the “repeat” part of that process for several artists, and I’d argue they’re my favorite musical artists of 2019, because the replay count is still increasing.
Here are 10 of my favorite musical artists of 2019:
(Not in any particular order. Many of these songs weren’t released in 2019 alone, but I decided to count them because these are my all-time favorite songs by bands I listened to for most of 2019.)
The 1975.
It’s no suprise that a coffee-drinking, creative gal like myself is OBSESSED with the 1975. Some of my favorite tracks from them include “Somebody Else,” “I Like America And America Likes Me,” “Ugh!,” “Mine,” and “Sincerity is Scary.”
2. Carly Rae Jepsen
Known, unfortunately, for her single “Call Me Maybe” Carly Rae Jepsen is one of the decades most talented pop artists, but she doesn’t get nearly enough of the recognition she deserves. She’s known as the Call-Me-Maybe-Girl and she has tons of records that easily surpass that one viral hit. Even more heartbreaking, her song, “Run Away With Me” a musical masterpiece that was turned into a meme in 2015 during the popularity of Vine is something I will NEVER forgive the world for letting flop. “Run Away With Me,” “Automatically in Love,” “Fever,” “LA Hallucinations,” “The One,” “Higher” “Cut to the Feeling,” “I really Like You,” and “I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance” (and just about every other one of her songs) are my favorites from Carly Rae Jepsen.
3. Børns
Børns is a colorful, multinstrumentalist, singer and songwriter known for the songs, “American Money,” “Fool,” “10,000 Emerald Pools,” “Past Lives,” and “Electric Love”—all of which are my favorites.
4. I Prevail
Taking it back to my roots in rock—and more specifically, punk rock—I’ve been listening to I Prevail almost non-stop, lately. Some of my favorite tracks are from their newest record, Trauma, including “Every Time You Leave,” “I Don’t Belong Here,” “Breaking Down,” “Gasoline,” “DOA,” “Low,” “Let Me Be Sad,” “Rise Above It,” and “Hurricane,” not necessarily in that order. (I know I almost named the entire list of songs from that album but 1) they’re really good! and 2) Jeez, can this list get any more emo?
5. A Day to Remember
While we’re on the topic of punk rock music, I figured I should mention one of my favorite bands of all time—A Day To Remember. Some of my favorite songs from A Day To Remember include “End of Me,” “Sometimes, You’re the Hammer, Sometimes, You’re The Nail,” “Best of Me,” “Colder Than My Heart, If You Can Imagine,” “My Life For Hire,” “I Heard It’s The Softest Thing In The World,” “You Should’ve Killed Me When You Had The Chance,” and “Life @ 11.” Can you believe those super long song titles!
6. The Color Grey
Moving on from alternative music, I’ve also been really into rap, hip-hop, and r&b. One of my favorite, yet lesser-known rap artists is The Color Grey, or Grey, the Antwerp based rapper and hip-hop artist. His music caught the attention of other music-lovers, rappers, and critics due to his unique mingling of important messages woven in with jazzy background music. Some of my favorites by The Color Grey are “Silence Speaks,” “Need to Know,” “Options,” “Sins” and “Vibes” in that order.
7. Tinashe
One of the most talented, yet underrated artists of our time is Tinashe. Her wordplay, vocals, dance skills, and musical wizardry is so incredible I am genuinely surprised she isn’t as big as other artists in her genre. At the time of writing this blog post, I am listening to my all-time favorite Tinashe song—”Bet” Some other favorites include “Feels Like Vegas,” “No Contest,” and “C’est La Vie.”
8. Purity Ring
One of the most obscure, yet ingenious bands I’ve ever stumbled across is Purity Ring. The band combines pop, rap, r&b, and old poetry to create music that touches you on multiple levels from lyrics, to tune, to overall composition. I find myself marveling at their lyrical genius and kicking myself, thinking, why didn’t I come up with that? My favorites from Purity Ring are “Asido,” “Crawlersout,” “Lofticries,” “Obedear,” “push pull,” “Repetition,” “Stranger than Earth,” “heartsigh,” and “begin again.” Not to mention, their album cover art is stunning.
9. Sickick
I won’t expose him here, but if you know, you know, Sickick has been on the music scene for yeeeears. He is gaining popularity on YouTube, but is widely known for his covers of popular artists songs and mash-ups. He’s gained attention for his insane ability to keep complex rhythms, natural vocal control, and skill in making and mixing fresh, new music unlike anything the trap/rap/pop scene has seen yet. Some of my favorites by Sickick include his “Jason Derulo Mashup,” “Sean Paul Mashup,” “Kill Me Slowly,” “Mind Games,” “Infected,” “G.M.O.D,” and “Don’t Catch Feelings.”
10. Bring Me The Horizon
Last but not least, we’re bringing it back around to alternative music, because how could I not? BMTH is doing something phenomenal in weaving multiple genres together with their new music. Some fans will argue that those who are into their newer music aren’t true fans, but I have always enjoyed their music, and as I’ve chilled out over the years (and so have they,) I’ve come to appreciate their slower, more laid-back tracks. Some of my favorites include “Mother Tongue,” “In The Dark,” “Mantra,” “Blasphemy,” “True Friends,” “That’s The Spirit,” “Throne,” “Doomed,” “Follow You,” and “Happy Song.”
That wraps up my top 10 favorite musical artists for 2019. It was hard to compile such a short list since I listen to such a diverse range of music, but those are definitely my favorites. Some honorable mentions include Juliet Simms, Lady Gaga, Deadmau5, and Ghost Town however, I chose not to include these artists because they fall into my all-time favorites lists and I didn’t want too much overlap. Clearly the biggest genre present in this list is alternative, and specifically punk rock—which isn’t surprising—after listening to punk rock exclusively during my formative years, it makes sense that the artists I listened to then would still hold meaning for me now. Fun fact though, punk rock isn’t even my favorite genre—electronic is!
Who were some of your favorite musical artists in 2019? Comment Below!
—Payton
My Favorite Poets of 2019
Below is my list of my favorite poets and recommendations of a few of their books. These poets have taught me do much about writing thought and feeling-provoking poems as well as many interesting truths about the world and those in it. Their writing is so inspiring and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to get into more modern poetry.
Below is my list of my favorite poets and recommendations of a few of their books. These poets have taught me do much about writing thought and feeling-provoking poems as well as many interesting truths about the world and those in it. Their writing is so inspiring and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to get into more modern poetry.
Christopher Poindexter
Christopher Poindexter is a bohemian poet who began writing poetry on a rebellious trip to California when he was 18. He considers himself more of an observer, trying to make sense of the human condition in all of its grit and glory. He currently has three books, Lavender, Old Soul Love, and Naked Human, all of which I would recommend. He is the poet that first got me into reading and writing poetry and his poems are beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He writes about the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.
Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur is an Indian-born Canadian poet, writer, illustrator, and performer. She immigrated to Canada as a child and has since settled in Toronto. She writes prose and poetry about beauty, pain and survival. Her poems reveal truth in the human existence and the pain and love that can be found along the way. She is a bestselling author of two books and a beloved poet in the digital age.
Upile Chisala
Born in 1994 and raised in Zomba, Malawi, writer Upile Chisala hopes to tell stories from the margins and, through her work, to help others and herself come to terms with pasts, celebrate presents, and confidently dream beautiful futures. She writes truthful, yet beautiful poetry and prose from the lens of an immigrant, African American woman.
Leah Stone
Leah Stone is a poet and memory recorder popular on Instagram for her punchy, short poems that pull at her readers’ emotions. She has one book called Dig Yourself Up, a collection of poetry and prose; a written form of self discovery. A home for those who believe in magic, and the diversity of what it means to be human in this abstract world.which Her poems always have me thinking, “Man, I wish I would have written that!” because they’re so lovely and provocative. Stone’s poems make you feel something, good or bad.
I also really enjoy the poem, Howl, by American beat poet, Allen Ginsberg. Howl is seen as a game-changer primarily because it expressed for the first time a modern psychological angst, an urban existence fueled by drugs, jazz, sex, travel, and expansion of the mind. Love or hate it, Howl is important because it is of urban birth, the language simultaneously surreal and vulgar, jazzy and foul, yet full of real life, sensitivity and hope. Today Howl is acknowledged as a literary classic in the sense that it broke through cultural barriers, challenged establishment and encapsulated the anger and frustrations of a generation.
Page 1 from Christopher Anthony Leibow’s LinkedIn Slide Share Slideshow, Gray’s Anatomy: The Poems.
Another favorite poem of mine is actually a found poem from the more than 150 years’ old seminal scientific text, Gray’s Anatomy, by Henry Gray. I stumbled on this poem from a LinkedIn Slide Share slideshow, by Christopher Anthony Leibow, called Grays’ Anatomy: The Poems. I’ve included the screenshot of the poem below as well as the link to the slideshow.
What do you think of these poets? Do you read Poindexter, Chisala, or Kaur? Let me know in the comments below!
Thumbnail photo by Andres Molina.